Scarred by Lighting
by brownie20
Summary: A lighting storm swept Will away leaving the guardians alone and hope fading fast. Suddenly Will appeared, yet changed. Where was she? What had happened? How did she get that scar? But most of all where did the Heart go? PLASE READ!


Hey everyone, some of you might have started to read this story, well now it is like 90 percent finshed!!!! PS. I do not own W.I.T.C.H. or any of the characters, but this is a verison of something that I think could have happened in during the second season of the animated series. I hope you all enjoy the story and I hope I didnt do too bad with the grammer and spelling, if so Im sorry! ENJOY! AND REVIEW THANK YOU!!!!

W.I.T.C.H. Scarred by Lighting

It was a beautiful day as the now four remaining guardians walked down the street; engrossed with brightly colored leaves. The wind was hollowing calling in the approaching winter. Each of the guardians pulled their coats close to their faces, looking as though the world had come to an end.

"Wow, it sure is getting colder out these days." Irma claimed as she shivered in her spot. "So how long has it been now?"

All the guardians looked at each other, until Taranee broke the silence.

"It has been three weeks…Three weeks". Taranee said as she looked deep into the dark sky.

After a moment of thought the guardians continued their journey to school, in silence; yet Taranee stayed behind with eyes still set on the vast darkened sky.

"Where are you Will?"

* * *

It was almost winter and the guardians have been missing Will ever since she mysteriously disappeared three weeks ago. A lighting storm came one evening after a regular battle, yet somehow the so called regular battle for the guardians changed. For as the fight ended Will was pulled away with the lighting storm. The guardians now, missing not only Will, but the Heart of Kandraka almost lost all hope. Thankfully, since the guardians last attempt of creating astral drops failed, Hay-Lin's Grandmother was able to create a better and more sensible astral drop of Will; allowing the astral drop to take the original Will's spot until she comes home. The guardians were now on their way to school, approaching Will's house to pick up AW (astral Will) for school.

(Knock, Knock, Knock)

"Hey where is she? We told AW to meet us out here every day at 7:30am, where can she be?" Cornelia asked with a frown on her face. The wind was picking up and a big storm looked like it was approaching the area soon. "We need to be getting to school." She reclaimed.

"Ya, we know but we have to wait for her, she is technically Will." Hay-Lin added in.

All the guardians looked at each other and let out a low groan in unison, the past few weeks had put everyone in a bad mood. Just as everyone was about to leave AW finally came out of her apartment building out of breath.

"Sorry Will's mom wanted me to clean up Will's room, and well it's a mess and I wasn't exactly certain on how to clean a room, so it took me a while. I think I got it right!" AW explained with a shy grin. Everyone looked at her in with both amazement and confusion, until Taranee finally spoke up.

"Well whatever way you did it is good enough; let's go before the storm comes." Taranee said with concern in her voice. So they all walked on to school, unknowing of what the storm was bringing.

* * *

The school day went on as any other day; the guardians had to always keep an eye out for AW since she didn't know all the details about school. Also one thing that the guardians had to work really hard at was keeping things as if nothing had happened, and trying to convince people that AW was the real Will. The only person that knew AW was not Will was, of course, Matt.

"Hey how's everyone doing?...And…" Matt tried to ask as he approached the group of girls. Yet he was cut off by Irma before he could even get the words out.

"No she is not back yet." Irma said with a frown. Matt looked down at his shoes as if they had suddenly changed to a new color, and he was inspecting the change.

"Well thanks I have to be getting to class." Matt said, turning on his heels heading to class, yet he still looked back at AW and gave her a shy smile, she still was his girlfriend after all even if she was an astral drop, it was suppose to be Will.

As the girls separated heading to their next class AW stopped dead in her tracks, causing the remaining guardians to stop in their tracks as well.

"Hey what's wrong AW?" Taranee said, stepping closer with concern written all over her face. AW seemed to have not registered the question in her mind, yet looked out the window, deep into the now very black sky.

"Something's coming….I can feel it." AW said eyes still set on the black sky.

* * *

After the odd feeling, that was never fully explained, the day still went on as normal; well as normal as a day can be since an astral drop was walking around the school, attending classes, pretending to be a real person. Yet something was still bugging AW all throughout the day, and all the guardians took notice to it. However it wasn't until the end of the day back at Hay-Lin's family's restaurant that the odd feeling became a reality.

"Hey I am hungry, is there any extra food Hay-Lin?" Irma asked holding her stomach. It started growling so loud that everyone looked at Irma and tried to hide their giggles.

"Hehehehe…Let me go and check…Be right back" Hay-Lin said heading toward the stairs that went to the to the kitchen, but before her foot even reached the first step a crack of lighting so strong, so loud, so close, struck, that it shook the building. Knocking everyone out of their seats, and rendered them speechless.

"WHAT-WAS-THAT?" Cornelia asked slowly rising from the floor. All the guardians did the same and slowly started to rise in amazement of the storm that was apparently right over the building. Just as everyone started to really come to their scenes the power went out and Hay-Lin's Grandmother came flying down the stairs.

"GIRLS! GIRLS! Can you feel it? There is an extremely powerful force very close by." Hay-Lin's grandmother explained, yet all the girls were still in shock, but in a matter of seconds they all snapped back into action.

"Grandma what do think it is?" Hay-Lin asked as fear starting to creep across her face.

"I don't know but I have a feeling that we will find out soon." Hay-Lin grandmother said heading to the stairs, the guardians looked at each other and with a silent agreement they followed as well.

* * *

The sky was now darker than ever, and the wind was blowing with a mighty force. As the guardians stepped outside they could feel the electricity in the air, and ventured on with caution. Yet within a few feet from the back of the restaurant they all stopped dead in their tracks, for everyone could feel two powerful forces, one was an extreme positive light energy while the other felt totally black and was a more dark energy. As the guardians looked to the sky once again something new appeared, two lights one so bright and white that it was difficult to even look at, and the other a dark purple mixture that almost blended in with the sky. The two forces hovered in the sky radiating the opposite energies, until finally the two forces collided.

All of a sudden a battle broke out between the two forces. They were moving with an incredible speed that they became almost invisible. They could only really be seen when they came in contact, at striking point. They moved about the sky with great speed and power, memorizing the guardians with the brilliant paths of light that trailed behind them.

"What the heck is going on? Should we intervene?" Irma asked looking to the other guardians for an answer. Yet nobody answered because no one knew what to do, the two forces were too powerful.

"Well let's go into W.I.T.C.H. mode and try to see what's going on" AW said, but before any of the girls could agree the white force was struck with a huge dark blow and was catapulted right in front of the guardians. The force was so strong that the thing (the guardians called it a thing due to the fact that they couldn't tell what things were creating the intense energy) that was producing the positive energy left an imprint in the ground as it slid to a halt a mere feet in front of the guardians, now joined by Matt. Unfortunately, the astral drop form of Will disappeared in the blast since Hay-Lin's Grandma had to use her own magical energy to help deflect some of the blast. But as the guardians crept closer to the hole where the thing felled; the light began to dim and they were all shocked at what they found.

* * *

The light had now faded, the dust and rocks were settled, and lying in the hole was an actual person. The dark force who apparently had a backlash from his own blast was trying to regain energy in the air, allowing time for the guardians to get a better look at the positive force, still lying in the hole created by the force of the attack. The person that they found appeared to be a girl with short red hair. She wore a brown cloak; with armor on her chest, arms, and legs. She had boots and a combination of shorts and skirt on for pants. Griped tightly in her right hand was a brilliant sword, and attacked to her left arm was an odd looking shield. She appeared to be a warrior of some sort, yet she seemed familiar. The guardians did not have a good chance to get a clear look at the girls face, because out of the blue the dark force had regained his energy and let out an attack that was heading right at the guardians. Before any of the guardians even turned around the odd girl awoke and in a blink of an eye she was in front of the group blocking the dark energies attack with both hands out stretched. A white shield formed so big, and so bright that the guardians ducked in shock. The force was enormous; all that was seen was this wall of white light held up by the mysterious girl. The ground shook and the guardians could feel the energy that the girl was pushing back. In a brilliant blast the attack stopped and the guardians started to regain vision the now glowing warrior who stood in front of them, starting her own attack. Sword placed outstretched in front of her; the girl appeared to be gathering all her energy into the sword, it built up to such a force that it looked like a sphere as bright as the sun was sitting at the tip of her sword. Then with one final strike of her sword, she released the energy that struck the dark force head on. With a glorious flash of light and a force released that knocked everyone backwards off their feet, the blast hit its target and eliminated the sky; as the light faded the dark energy mumbled something to the white light, which was the girl, and vanished within thin air. The white force hovered, now in the air, for a moment until she slowly descended back to the ground.

* * *

The guardians all slowly got to their feet, all eyes set on the glowing girl. When the odd girls feet touched the ground a positive energy was released that was actually a warm feeling engulfing the shocked group. Silence filled the air as everyone was watching the girl with wonder and confusion, confusion that expanded when the girl turned around. As the slowly diming lighted figure turned to face the guardians they were all shocked to see not a random energy filled warrior, but….

"Will…?"

Standing in front of the group of guardians was Will, Will who has been missing for three weeks, Will who they had almost lost hope in ever finding, Will who seemed changed, now fashioning a scar that went vertically down the side of her face, directly down her right eye. Was this girl Will? Silence weighted down heavily on the group, the only thing that distracted their attention was the sudden disappearance of AW. The guardians were still in shock as the warrior turned to them.

"Well that was fun I guess" The Will look-a-like said as she placed her sword back in the holder on her back.

"This was so pointless! When will that magician ever learn that I am not going to fall so easily for his illusions? This is the second time this month". Will said walking straight past the guardians as if they were not even there. This action woke up the guardians from their shocked state.

"HEY WILL! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? CAN'T YOU SEE US???" Cornelia screamed, tears streaming down her face, the guardians all huddled close to each other, all welling up in tears.

"Will! Where did you go? Why did you leave us?" Hay Lin asked wiping a tear away. This stopped Will dead in her spot, as she slowly turned to look back at the guardians, fear and terror filled her eyes.

"How can you say my name, you are illusions!.....WHAT IS THIS TRICK?" Will demand not at the guardians but more to the sky.

"Magician!!!!! I beat you in the battle!.. LET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!!!!!" Will yelled to the sky. With no response the scared Will quickly touched the ground, and started to examine her surroundings. The guardians watched her closely waiting for a response, until suddenly Will turned to them, eyes wide with terror, fist clenched into a tight fist.

"How long have I been gone?" Will asked in a stern yet shaky voice. Taranee was the first to answer.

"You have been gone for three weeks." Taranee said tears sliding down her face.

* * *

The scared Will stood there, she couldn't move, she could hardly breathe. What was going on? What was happening? She wondered to herself. All she remembered was battling the magician, and somewhere in the middle of the battle Black Night, the dark energy that likes to fight her, appeared and a new battle raged on. Then all of a sudden she was on earth, in Heatherfield. Why? How? And most of all, what now?

Will could only stand there, staring at the friends she thought she had lost, the world she had giving up on ever finding again, and the fear of returning to the world that she had lived in for the past three years.

Time seemed to stop for everyone, nothing was said, and there was nothing that could be said. All eyes were on Will, and Will could feel the heat of the gazes. Finally the silence was broken by Matt.

"Will is that really you? What happened, where were you? We miss you." He said in a soft voice, cracking from trying to hold in his own tears.

Will couldn't speak, the words couldn't come out, and she didn't know what to say, so she did the first thing that came to mind. She ran; and within the first few yards of her sprint she collected some energy and took off into the sky. Leaving a trail of light behind her. She couldn't tell them, not everything, not yet. She needed time. The guardian gathered close to one another watching the Will who had left them once, leave again. The group watched with tears and pain, until Hay-Lin's grandmother brushed them into the basement of the restaurant.

"She will be back; she needs time that's all." Hay-Lin's grandmother said, trying to reinsure the girls. The guardians decided to sleep over Hay-Lin's house in the hope that Will might return, and to their surprise she did. That morning a light knock on the basement door awoke the girls, at first the past day's events seemed like a distant dream, but reality came back almost instantly when Will's voice also came through the door. In less than a second all the girls were up and the door was flung open, revealing Will.

"You came back we were so worried about you." Hay-Lin said trying to hold in her tears of joy.

Taranee who had been standing in the back of the room slowly came forward as the guardians made way for her. Even though all the guardians were very close Taranee and Will had a special bond.

"Will is it really you?"Taranee asked tears streaming down her face. Will, who had seen so much in her time alone, having to be alone, live alone, and survived alone, saw the pain in her best friend eyes and felt a wave of guilt that poured over her. She had so much to say, but the words would not form. Finally Will managed to nod, and soon found herself in the comfort of her best friend arms. Tears were now falling from Will's eyes, something she had not done in a long time. In a matter of moments all the guardians gathered around into a giant hug, with Will and Taranee in the middle. Nothing was said, and nothing needed to be said. Will was home, it was really her; that was good enough for now.

* * *

After a well need breakfast, the details to Will's disappearance finally started to be revealed, and Hay-Lin's grandmother was the first to ask the questions.

"Will, where have you been for the past three weeks?" She asked with all eyes and ears now turned to Will.

Will who still wore all the armor she had been wearing since she appeared looked around the group thinking about the best way to tell her tale. After a long pause Will finally started to tell her story.

"Ok…it all started I guess three weeks ago during the last battle we all fought in. I still don't really understand why or how, but I was pulled out of our world and into another world. It was a lot like earth, but there were barley any people present, it was all forest and dessert areas. I was all alone…..I had to fend for myself, and make shelter for myself……. It was hard at first….but I got used to it. But within my first few nights the oracle appeared and explained my task. I was chosen as the warrior of light, he said that every so many keepers of the heart qualify for being a warrior of light. I guess I was one of them; so was Neissaica. But there are tests and a path that had to be chosen…...It's hard to explain and….. I guess I chose the path of light while (the bad lady) chose the path of darkness….. So I lived in the woods, and this power that has been inside of me started to grow…It is funny how I never had my element power then I finally got control over lighting, and now it is a combination of light and electricity…..I guess you all are wondering how long I have been there because I have finally accepted the truth. There time went by differently to me, I was there for three years…..I guess it has been only three weeks here…..wow….three weeks compared to three years….And I guess you are also wondering about my scar….ya….that was the test…..the test to see if I was truly a warrior….It was a series of battles that I had to fight using my new power, which is actually stronger than the guardian state… To have all my power I have to choose one or the other, so I haven't changed into a guardian in like three years…..but I had to have seven battles…and I somehow won them all….but each victory was harder than the last because I was fighting the people I loved. The first battle…was my mom…then Matt….than Hay-Lin….Irma…Cornelia….Taranee…. and the seventh was….. Me…I had to fight against myself, and it was me who tore into my own face….ya, that was a really hard battle…..but it was over at last, I thought. Then I had to go through….I guess a waiting period until I came back here. That is where I had all the other battles, with new enemies that I made, with tricks and traps that I had to watch out for; but I guess it is all over now…it's finally over...."

No one spoke for a long time; all that was heard was the blowing of tissues. Taranee was the first to make a move. She was sitting the closets to Will and when Will was looking away Taranee went to touch the scar that bore her face. But when she was in mere inches from Will's face, Will hand shot up and grabbed Taranee's, making everyone jump.

"I'm sorry Taranee" Will said loosening her grip she had on Taranee's hand. "After being attack almost every night, I never let my defenses down."

* * *

The room was silent; there was little movement besides the release of Taranee's hand, and all eyes were still focused on Will. Will could feel the pressure of everyone's gaze burning right through her, and after seeing so much, and experiencing so much, for the first time Will had to look away. A lot more had happened to her while she was gone, yet she could not bring herself to tell her friends. Not yet at least. She decided that it would be best if they were oblivious to the truth; for her heart had harden, not theirs. Looking for a distraction, something else to change the subject Cornelia finally broke the silence.

"Ok, Will, I hate to say it, but you are so leaving stuff out of your story…..You know that you can tell us anything….anything…..so spill already!" Cornelia yelled, standing, staring Will straight in the eye. As Will watched Cornelia yell she noticed her fists were shaking, and her voice was slightly trembling. Then as Will looked at the others she could see a since of sorrow in their eyes, she knew what they wanted. They only wanted the truth, and to help. With this Will gave up on her attempts of smoothing things over with smiles and sugar. There is no time like the present Will thought to herself, so better tell them now; for the future at least. Will had to give credit to Cornelia for always getting what she wanted out of people, she hadn't changed at all. With that Will gave a small smile and tried to plan out in her mind on how to break the truth to her friends.

"Ok, I did leave some things out, but everything I did tell you was the truth. When I was in the other world, I was totally alone. I had to get my own food, making a fire took me forever, and I only made really one shelter for myself…..I did become really good at fishing, because that was all I really ate….But the Oracle gave me instructions to head to the heart of the world, and that would be were my test would be…Ya my test was there, but the test started when I entered the world….But I went a good month without seeing a soul…I saw lots of strange creatures that wanted me for a meal, and a few times I almost did get eaten….But the worse thing that did happen to me……well it's hard to say….but I was found by this odd clan…..they were odd in the since that they captured people to satisfy their gods…..and I was captured by them….and the way to please the gods was to torture the slaves that they captured……I was tortured for a week straight…..I was lucky and somehow escape….the guards weren't paying attention and I was able to get a hold of their keys….and I ran….I have never ran that far in my life….I just kept running…..and I never looked back…..But on the way out I did take some of their armor, that's how I got the cloths I am wearing now….Every night I would lay awake….and with every twig that was snapped I would jump…..as time went on and I started to see more people, I became targeted. It was as if the world was against me….I have been hurt…I have been lost for days….I went days without eating….I went weeks without sleeping….all I did was wander from one area to another looking for my destination….and to survive…..I also had a lot of time to think….about everything….us….Matt….our goals….our victories….our loses….and most of all (for the first time Will is now crying, tears pouring) was my mom….and how I never got to say sorry and that I loved her….or…..goodbye……………"

Tears were streaming down Wills face, and even though Will was trying so hard to hold them in, she couldn't hold them in any longer. Everyone was still silent, and there were no words that could possibly make anyone feel better. But still everyone gathered close together, embracing each other.

* * *

After everything was said and done, and all the tears were wiped away, Irma, Hay-Lin, Taranee, and Cornelia had one last thing on their mind. With agreeing looks and smiles, Irma asked Will the question they have all been wondering.

"So Will when was the last time you had a bath?" Irma said with a wide grin.

With a quick look around Will was stuck, she honestly couldn't remember, and it was the pause that gave away the answer. Then everyone suddenly burst out laughing, they were laughing so hard that Irma manage to fall right out of her chair. Even Will had to giggle a little from this, because honestly she couldn't remember; it was a leisure she had to go without.

"Come on Will you can use my bathroom." Hay-Lin said as she headed up the stairs, Will following behind her.

After the two left a silence fell over the room again, and the weight of Will's story still weighed heavy on their minds. They had no idea what Will had been up to, and they never could imagine the things that she spoke of. Will was hunted, tortured, lost, hungry, and worse of all alone. By now Hay-Lin had rejoined the group with sadness and worries written all over her face.

"Hey guys when Will was changing I saw even more scars, she really was hurt in the other world. Some of the marks looked like burns too; she must have had to fight for her life." Hay-Lin said sitting down next to her grandmother.

The guardians looked at each other in shock. They could not believe that Will was stuck in such a horrible place, and what made them feel even worse, was the fact that they weren't there to help her. Will had to face all that alone, and it sadden the girls, if only they could have found her and saved her. Maybe they could have protected Will. Hay-Lin's grandmother, wise with age knew exactly what were on the guardians minds.

"Girls you do know that there was nothing more that we could possibly have done. We did everything, it was her fate is to be sent there, and it appears that she did succeed in her quest; even with the heavy cost." Hay-Lin's grandmother said trying to make the girls feel better. But it didn't help out too much. Will was scarred and there was still so much that was left out of her story.

After Will had finished up with her bath, Hay-Lin gave her some cloths to wear and a pair of her old shoes. To every ones surprise the cloths that Hay-Lin gave to Will were too big, Will had lost a lot of weight while she was gone, the only thing that really fit was the shoes, and that was because Will and Hay-Lin had the same shoe size. Even with normal cloths on Will still looked different, she seemed distant and lost in the world she had been absent for, for three years.

It took Will a long time for the reality of being home to sink in. With every noise that was made or if a movement was made too quick, Will would jump. She was aware of everything around her, and she refused to leave her sword. So, Will sat in Hay-Lin's basement, sword at the ready, and on guard. Her eyes would shoot around the room, and only once in a while she would actually get up from her seat. Finally after a few hours Will started to talk again.

"Did people realize that I was missing?" Will asked eyes glancing at the door, ready as if someone was going to burst in and attack them.

"No we had an astral drop of you made, so that no one would notice." Irma said eating a rice ball.

"Oh….and….what about my mom….ah….how….is…she…..?" Will asked and for the first time looking straight down at her hands, examining them as if there they were suddenly changing right before her eyes. It took the guardians a long time to answer her, because it was question that everyone was avoiding. It was Taranee who finally answered her.

"Well you mom didn't notice too much, but she knew that something was up. She is fine though and she is questioning us on your behavior because she hadn't had an argument with you in three weeks, so she thought something was wrong." Taranee add with a slight smile. After hearing about her mom, Will seemed to relax a little and even ate a very small rice ball.

* * *

It was getting to be around dinner time, so Hay-Lin called Will's mom to inform her that Will was going to be sleeping over her house. Will was not ready to go home, and all the guardians could tell. As the girls were laying out the blankets, and were getting ready for bed after a long day of worries, and stress; Will stayed in the corner with sword propped up against her shoulder and only one eye closed. The guardians looked over, but decided to let her be, they all needed some time to let things register in their minds, more details will come with time. They could not rush Will.

As the weekend went by Will slowly started to open up more and the real Will started to come out. But she was still holding back. Will still hadn't gone home yet, but Monday was rolling around quickly and the girls decided that it might help if she went back to school. She had to go to school, because her absence could lead to suspicion. Will barrowed some more cloths and with the guardians she went to school for the first time in three years. As Will entered the building, Matt now joining the group, she was so shocked to see that nothing had changed, everyone was still there, and the people looked just as they did when she left. They only difference was the fact that everyone's eyes went directly to Will's scar and gossip started to rule the school. Will who had seen so much, had to look down and away from the staring faces. Luckily she had her friends there to back her up.

Will went the entire day with looks, gossip, and a billion questions on what happened to her face. The answer that the girls decided on telling people was that Will was cleaning a window and it broke, cutting her face. To their surprise, people believed their story. The guardians managed to go the entire day with no issues with the real Will's return or her scar, until her and Cornelia's history class. Their teacher was dating Will's mom and was shocked when he saw her come in, and with the girls forgetting his relationship with Will's mom, they were in for one difficult ride.

"Good after noon everyone. How was everyone's day? And Will what happened to your eye?" Their teacher, Dean, asked with a sense of worry in his expression. Will was lost for words, happily Cornelia spoke up.

"Over the weekend Will was cut by glass from a broke window, it was a total accident." Cornelia said giving Will a smile of re-insurance. The teacher looked at Will than at Cornelia, and when he heard no response from Will, he went on with his attendance. As the class went on Will wondered whether Dean would call her mom to see if she was ok, and Will wanted to be the one to tell her mom the truth. It was then that Will decided that it might finally be time to tell the parents of there adventures, and secrets.

Unfortunately Will's thoughts were interrupted by the teacher announcing that the class had a pop quiz. Everyone let a moan, except Will, which was odd because she always hated pop quizzes more than anyone else. As the teacher went around the room handing out the quizzes he naturally stopped at Will's desk, waiting to hear her remarks on the pop quiz, for she always gave a remark on how unfair pop quizzes were. But today was different.

"No complaints for the quiz? This is a first." Mr. Collin said placing the quiz on the desk. Will looked down at the quiz and said nothing, there was no expression on her face. She pulled out her pen and started working on the quiz. Everyone in the room was shocked this was the first time they have ever seen Will take a quiz without a complaint, and Dean was now really suspicious.

"Will I would like to see you after class for one moment, is that ok?" Mr. Collin asked, Will looked up at him than at Cornelia, and it took her a moment to understand the question. For she had been absent from school for three years, and she forgot about teachers and their concerns for students.

"Yes Sir." Will said sitting straight in her chair, stiff, like a true warrior getting commands from her captain.

"Ok and Will you can call me Mr. Collin. Ok?" Dean said worry filling his eyes, yet he did not receive the answer he was hoping for.

"Yes Sir." Will answered and she returned to the quiz ahead of her.

After a moment the class went on as normal, and as soon as the class started it ended; Dean moved over right next to Will's desk waiting as if she was going to make a run for the door.

"Thank you for staying late Will, I just wanted to ask you a quick question."Dean asked sitting in the desk next to Will's.

"Yes Sir?" Will answered sitting at her desk packing up her books, she was having some issues, for she couldn't remember what color book was for her English class.

"Well you didn't seem yourself today and I wanted to make sure that you were alright. You know you can talk to me about anything, but I understand if you still don't feel comfortable in talking to me on a more personal level." Dean said trying to keep the conversation as casual as possible. Will didn't know how to answer him; she was actually liking him, now that she had some time to think of him as a step father. But then Will got a descent idea.

"Well Sir, if it is ok with you, can you wait for my explanation after parent teacher meeting night? All your questions will be answered than, all I ask is for you to wait a little after that night and I will tell you what you want to know." Will said in a more serious voice looking Dean straight in the eye. Dean, taken back by the glaze that Will gave him, he was shocked. Who was this girl sitting next to him, it looked like Will but the Will he once knew had changed; he had no other choice but to agree, and let Will go on to her classes.

* * *

At the end of the day Will asked for all the guardians to have a meeting, hoping that they would accept her plan. It was a colder day, with a strong wind, it felt like a wind of change; making Will feel a little nervous.'

"OK can we have the meeting quick the wind is totally killing my hair! Cornelia asked trying to re-fix her style, but the wind was winning the battle.

"Well, during my time alone I really started to think, about everything, and in that time I thought of something that even I would disagree too. But I was thinking that it is time to tell our parents the truth. The truth about everything, and maybe they will understand." Will said in a shy voice, looking stead fast at the ground. She was waiting for the yells, the arguments, and the answer no; but she was surprised when she got the opposite answer.

"Maybe that is the best way to go, it will sure finally get our parents off our backs!" Irma said looking at the other girls for support.

"Ya, I always hated the idea of lying to my mom and dad all the time." Taranee confessed giving Will a confident look.

"I'm in, Grand-ma knows so she can help us break the news to the parents." Hay-Lin piped in with a wide smile. All eyes went to Cornelia who always seemed like the last one to put in her answer.

"Alright let's do it, but how are we going to break the news, and where?" Cornelia asked the group.

"Well I don't really know how, but I was thinking about having everyone stay after parents meeting night. All our parents have to come so I thought that would be best." Will said looking for any complaints, yet everyone agreed again; and it was settled. The truth was going to come out.

The guardians only had three days to prepare themselves; for it was Monday and parents meeting night was on Thursday. Who knew that three days could go by so fast, because before they knew it, it was Thursday. Will had been dodging her mom since she came back, so technically Will hadn't even seem her mom at all. Tonight was going to be the night that she would really see her mom for the first time in what feels like three years, and tonight she would have to confess everything and explain her scar to her mom.

The Guardians decided to first meet at Ha-Lin's house than go to the meeting together; with the one goal of keeping all the parents at ease. This was going to be hard, really hard since Will's mom hasn't really seem her. But all they could do was hope for the best. The guardians did their best to keep everyone happy, because all the parents wanted to know why they had to stay late. Will had the hardest time, since every time she saw her mom she had to turn her head so that her scar would be hidden. But finally the golden hour arrived and when everyone was gone, besides their parents and Dean the guardians came together for their hardest mission yet. Taranee was voted to be the one to do most of the talking, yet each one planned out their own way of telling their individual story. Taranee stood in front of the group, and with a nervous gulp she started her story.

"Hey everyone…ah….Thank you for hanging around, but there is something that we all wanted to tell you." Taranee said looking around for the room before continuing.

"First of all I'll start off with telling you about something that is hidden to the normal person… which is the presence of good and evil in the universe……. With the presence of good and evil a god-like figure, I guess… that's what you can call him…… had the task of creating a barrier that would separate the two worlds….you know…the good from the bad……Once the barrier was created this god like figure needed to find someone that could protect the barrier from evil beings that wants to over-rule the other world….That is where the Guardians of the Veil come into play. The guardians are five beings that possess the power of the elements. The five elements are fire, water, air, earth, and lightning. Than one of those guardians is the one that holds the heart, the Heart of Kandrakar; which is the orb that holds all the power of the guardians and allows the guardians to travel to other worlds…..like the world were all the bad stuff happens. The guardians protect that veil and all the worlds connected to it, and there have been many generation of guardians for many years now. When the veil is stable there is no real need for the guardians, but now the veil is in danger…. So new guardians had to be chosen to protect it…and…….well………..We have been chosen to be the guardians……and have been chosen to protect the veil." Taranee said looking exhausted from her speech.

The room was silent; everyone looked shocked, confused and full of disbelief.

"Did I explain that good enough?" Taranee asked looking for some form of response. The girls nodded; finally the parents started to question the girls.

"Hahahaha real funny girls, is this a stupid prank or something?" Irma's mom asked looking around at the other parents, looking for someone to agree with her. All the parent had skeptical looks written across their faces and the girls were getting the feeling that they were never going to believe them. It was now time for Hay-Lin's grandma to take the stage and in attempt to try to help the girls convince the crowd.

"Well I hate to say it, but the girls are telling the truth. They have been called upon to protect this world and others; in order to maintain the balance of light and dark. I know it is hard to believe, but it's true; it is something that was driven by fate and each of these young ladies accepted their fates with honor……ah….why don't you girls show what you can do to help tell our story….Hay-Lin do you mind starting off?....." Hay-Lin's grandmother said slowly getting out of the way for Hay-Lin to take the stage. The parents still had skeptical looks when Hay-Lin came up to present her abilities. Slowly she crept in front of the group and stared blankly at the crowd of judging eyes, with a quick look around and a deep breath Hay-Lin started off the chain of confessions.

"Hey everyone, as you all know I'm Hay-Lin….he..he..he…..ah…ok….well like grandma said I'll tell you what ability I have, but first of all I would like to say….mom..dad…I am sorry for keeping this a secret from you…I never wanted to keep this a secret but we had no choice…so" and with a deep breath in Hay-Lin filled the entire room with a soft breeze that went from circling the entire room to a small contained tornado that hovered in the palm of her hand.

"You see I have the power over air" she said with a smile holding out the little tornado for all to see. Silence filled the room so the girls decided to continue and, Irma was next in line.

"Hi….so I am Irma and…..dad….mom…..I am really……really sorry….but I had to lie to you a lot…..but now you will know why I had to do this so…..well…..ok I will be blunt I control water….weird I know." And with that Irma held out her hand and water appeared out of thin air and she played with it as if she had a blue string attached to an invisible stick.

"By the way this is why I take such long baths, I sit and practice." Irma said with her usual big grin, Taranee could see that everyone was getting fussy so she took front stage.

"Hello you all know me….and well….I have control over….oh wait…I want to say first….I am sorry mom..dad…please forgive my lies….I never meant to cause any harm….but I have good news…I over came my fear…because I now have the power over fire so…it doesn't bother me anymore." And with the snap of her figures a flame appeared and hovered in the air, and with a flick of the wrist the flame was extinguished and Cornelia took her queue and started to tell her tale.

"So…..like… this is weird and I never really liked it since it all started….but we are a team…and I couldn't let them down……so…..ya…..I have the power over earth and stuff like that….ya….." as she finished her sentence she slowly put her hand to the floor and as she lifted it a flower was growing right out of the wooded floor, and stopped when it reached her knee. Than with the same ease she was able to reduce the flower back the nothingness it originally was.

The parents were beyond shocked, the girls couldn't tell if they believed them or not. The silence in the room was pretty much killing the girls, until the one person they didn't want to hear started talking. Will's mom started asking questions and the girls were dreading this the entire time, especially Will.

"And Will...Do you also have something to contribute? Please tell me you don't have any part of this." Will's mom said trying to look around Cornelia and Taranee who were trying to block Will from being seem, but Will motions that it was ok and Cornelia and Taranee parted for Will to make her time in the spot light.

* * *

Will have been through so much in her time away from home, she survived alone, had to learn to find food on her own, find shelter, protect herself, she couldn't sleep without fear of being attack, she was alone for so long; and even more when the time came, which it did, she had to learn to take a life. She basically lived in hell and came back broken and scarred, but facing her mom, the one person she loved the most, the one she left on a bad note, the one she wanted to gain her forgiveness and be held in her arms again, the one she wanted to at least get one last chance to say goodbye and sorry for being so troublesome; was the hardest thing she had ever done. So face tilted down to the floor so that nobody could see her face Will made her way up front and stood face down, fists clenched, and tears welling up in her eyes; she slowly started to talk, but to her surprise it came out as almost a whisper.

"Mom…mom…." Will said through quite sobs and now trembling uncontrollably. "I….I …I…am so sorry…..I am sorry." Will said falling to her knees, tears splashing down to the floor in a very consistent flow. "I am sorry that I was so bad….I am sorry I gave you so much trouble...I was so alone…..and I didn't want….I didn't want….I didn't want to die without you knowing how sorry I was….for being…. so stupid…..I was stupid….and rude….and you ….you are….the best mom….ever…and I am so sorry that I never treated you….like the wonderful mom you really are….I don't deserve to be your daughter…..I too have a power I am the holder of the heart…and I also have power over electricity…I sometimes talk to electronic machines…..But …. I actually haven't even been here….for what?....was it three weeks…ya that was a clone version of me….. I was actually in another world……alone…so alone…..I… slept…ate…lived…all alone..alone….for three years….I was in that…that other world…for three years….alone..and …and…I had so much time….time to just think...think about everything….and I was …..I was…captured…beaten….ah…I had to fight and…even kill….I am so sorry mom….but each night I laid awake….thinking of you….and how I wished so hard….I just wished to be home again…..that's all I wanted was to go home…." With that Will looked up tears streaming down her face and looked her mom straight in the eye.

"I am so sorry mom….I had to lie to you so many times and it pushed us farther apart….I just pray that you will forgive me….please I am begging for your forgiveness…I don't deserve it…but please…I am so sorry…I am so sorry…I'm sorry…..I'm sorry……."

Everyone was frozen as the reality of it all sank deep into everyone's heart, Will who was now crouching on the floor close to hysterical sobs was shocked when all of a sudden she was being held, held in the arms that were so familiar yet so new. It was her mom that was now holding her in her arms, rocking her back and forth, whispering soothing words into her ear. It was then for the first time Will was able to embrace her mother's love, and released all the pain she had been carrying for, at least to her, was three years. Following example all the parents did the same, nothing was said, everyone knew the truth and the trust, forgiveness and support was all the girls could ever ask for from their parents. After everything was said and done Will's mom took Will's face into her hands and took a good long look at her scar.

"Will, I am sorry you had to do this all alone, but I hope that you realize that I will always be here for you no matter what, I love you." Will's mom said, lightly touching the scar. Will slowly nodded and for the first time since she had gotten back she smiled a true and loving smile.

Unfortunately the little reunion/confession time was interrupted, causing Will snap up at full alert and on guard. Then from the far side of the room a creepy voice appeared.

"So, Warrior of Light, how was your little reunion? Did I see you crying!!! HA...HA…HA…" The dark figured said, now walking up towards the guardians. The guardians went into instant fighting stance, but Will stood still eyes fixed on the dark young man.

"Aw Will, what is with the harsh looks, I thought we were friends, weren't we?" The dark figured asked now circling the group, but maintaining eye contact with Will.

"You thought you destroyed me didn't you? Well isn't that a little foolish you, had to learn that the hard way, right. Well how about I teach you the lesson again, this time I will use your friends here as my toys." He said with a vicious laugh.

Than before the girls could even register what the heck was going on the dark figure, which was the same dark figure that was attacking Will when she returned to earth, sent out a blast of dark energy that was heading right towards the guardians. Irma, Taranee, Hay-Lin, Cornelia and all their parents ducked; there was no time to do anything else. But as the guardians shielded their eyes preparing themselves for the blow a figure appeared before them, and was blocking the dark energy with a tremendous force. As every looked up they saw Will standing in front of the attack, pushing back the raw energy with her bare hands, radiating with a white light that was almost blinding. With a sudden flash of light everyone was pushed backwards, but the guardians were quick to get up and found Will standing in the same spot with the white light surrounding and engulfing her body.

"What was that?" Irma's dad asked going into cop mode. "Will! Are you alright?" Will's mom yelled out, fear all over her face. Will looked back and nodded, then focused her attention back on the dark figure.

"Nice try Black Night! But I have gotten stronger since our last battle. You will not defeat me." Will said as the white light was glowing even brighter.

"Really well let's see than, Warrior of Light!" Black Night said as he took off through the roof and into the open night sky. Will stood for a moment gathering her energy and without a second thought she pushed off the ground and flew into the air with such a force that a hole was left where she took off, and she followed leaving her own hole in the roof; making her way into the sky. Everyone quickly ran out into the parking lot to watch the epic battle that was held in the cool night air.

"Where did they go?" Cornelia asked scanning the sky for any evidence on their ware abouts. The others followed her example and joined the search for Will in the sky above; suddenly a streak of white light appeared.

"There she is" Taranee yelled eyes fixed onto the bright object hovering in the midnight air, now running towards the epic battle. Everyone followed even the parents, unknowing of what they might be getting themselves into. As the guardians approached the battle Will and the dark figure where in the mist of a battle, colliding with blinding flashes of light that appeared every time they came into contact. The two forces glided through the air, intertwining, weaving, and smashing together with incredible speeds. As the group got closer they were amazed to see that the two warriors weren't even touching, that their energies were so strong that the energies were bouncing off each other, pushing them back. It was a beautiful sight to see, the flashes of light and streaks that they left behind, all done with such speed and with no effort. Without warning Will dove down to the ground with the dark figure right on her track, she was flying with such a force that the earth broke as she sailed right along the edge of the ground, leaving an imprint as she flew by. The guardians didn't know what to do, should they try to help? Or would they only get in the way. But with agreeing looks the guardians knew deep in their hearts what to do, so they went into Witch mode and was prepared to protect their parents no matter what, unfortunately without the actual heart their powers were limited, but still together they hoped it was enough to block off any attack that might head towards them. The parents all gathered and examined the girls new looks, amazed on how they changed, and finally accepting the truth to their tale.

"Are these real wings?" Taraness's mom asked poking her daughter's wing with the tip of her figure. "Wow, you changed; you look older" Cornelia's dad added in looking skeptical. The girls all had to contain their giggles for they were used to their new looks now. The giggles didn't last long, because suddenly Will was catapulted into the ground right in front of the group, the girls used their power to create a shield to protect everyone from the after blow of her landing. As the dust cleared Will's mom ran to the hole where Will was laying in; yet the sight she saw shocked everyone. As Will's mom crept down the hole she found her daughter beaten and bleeding; a steady stream of blood was sliding right down the side of Will's face. Her cloths was torn and burned, blood everywhere, and large gashes were spread all across her body; Will laid there for a moment and to everyone's surprise she slowly started to stand, and the very dim light started to regain its brilliant glow.

"Will what are you doing? You can't possibly fight anymore….your too hurt….I WONT LET YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF….DO YOU HEAR ME WILL!!!....PLEASE STOP THIS NOW!" Will's mom screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. Will stood at the edge of the hole eyes fixed on her mother, a extraordinary blast was approaching, and with the flick of Will's wrist she deflected the blast back, eyes still fixed on her mother.

"I am sorry mom, but I can't stop….I have to fight….It is my turn." Will said tears now streaming down her face.

"What do you mean your turn, why are you doing this? Who are you protecting Will?" Her mom asked; Will gazed deep into her mother's eyes and with blasts, rocks flying in all directions, and explosions erupting all around; Will gave her mom her answer.

"…You…"

* * *

Will took off into the sky faster and stronger than ever before. She knew what she had to do; she had to protect the ones she loved. She was willing to sacrifice herself so that they could all live a better life. The blasts were getting stronger, coming faster; it was getting harder to deflect them away. This was the path she had chosen, she understood what she had to do, and this was her last chance. Will flew down to where the group was huddled together, for a blast was heading directly at them, with a quick block Will extinguished the blast and took her fighting stance in front of the group. With tears streaming down her face mixing in with the blood still running down as well, she stood still with arms wide open, Will looked back at the group and said her final words.

"Run."

The dark figure was charging head on, right at Will, the energy they created made rocks rise from their sleep, flying into the sky. Time seemed to stop, as Will released a light that was so bright, that it looked like an explosion bloomed right out of the earth that crashed into the sky, everything disappeared, and all that could be seem was the white light that appeared to be engulfing the entire world. Everyone was knocked right off their feet, trying to huddle together as the earth around them was dissolving under their feet. Waves of brilliant white energy poured and splashed over them; until finally the white light started to dim away and the still night sky regained its calmness and beauty.

It took a few moments for everyone to come back to reality and grasp the fullness of the situation. Will's mom scrambled up looking around with terror; screaming out Will's name.

"WILL!... WILL!.... WILL!…. WHERE ARE YOU?....WILL…WILL……….W-I-L-L!!!...." Will's mom screamed, falling to her knees in the remains of the battle, Dean rushing over to her. Everyone was shocked, what had just happened? What in the world did Will just do? Was the battle over? Was Will gone for good? The girls, now back in the usual bodies were left speechless, tears falling down their faces. Everyone came together for a moment of silence for no one knew what to say, it was pretty obvious that Will sacrificed herself to save them all, but as they came together a idea came into Hay-Lin's mind.

"Ah…remember how we used to be able to talk to each other through thought, maybe if we work together and think the same thought we can find her." Hay-Lin said through silent sobs. The girls all looked around and with a silent agreement, went into formation, holding each other hands in a circle. But just as they were going to start, Irma felt a tap on her shoulder and when she looked over she saw her mom with tears in her eyes.

"Can we join in as well?" Irma's mom asked as the other parents walked over ready to contribute any way they could. There wasn't even a need for an answer as the guardians parted to let in their parents holding each other's hands in one giant group.

"Ok everyone concentrate on Will, we will find her." Taranee announced tears streaming down her cheeks.

So the group held hands and went into deep thought with only one thing on their minds, and that was Will.

As quickly as they started the group was instantly swept away into the cosmos of the universe and amazingly or not went right to where the guardian's powers originated from, Kandraka.

"Wait a sec, we didn't mentally leave earth, we physically left earth." Irma said patting her body to make her point that the entire group was physically in a second dimension. Their question whether they were really there or not was answered when the Oracle walked over to the group bowing to Hay-Lin's grandmother, then to the guardians, and then to the still very shocked group of parents.

"Hello everyone, welcome, so are you all ready to take this journey to the where Will has been?" the Oracle asked looking to the group, and without any hesitation the entire group nodded. With a smile the Oracle instantly teleported the group into another world, when the group regained their bearings they could hear the Oracle give their final set of directions.

"Alright everyone, Will is here in this world, good luck in finding her; because you are the only ones that can help free her heart." And with that the group was alone and shocked by their surroundings. Slowly releasing their hands and dispersing, looking around the group finally started to see what kind of world Will had been living in for the past three years. It was a very wooded area that looked like a giant nature park, however the trees where bigger than skyscrapers, and most of the vegetation looked very odd. Never the less there was trees, water, brushes, dirt and grass, and even some trees that contained fruit looking things. It was a nice day with blue skies, a sun, and the tempter was pleasant. Even though they were all still a little shocked by the day's events the parents started to take a more serious look at the situation.

"Where in the world are we I am starting to really worry, how did we get here, who was that man?" Cornella's mom asked holding onto Cornella's dad's hand. All the parents had to nod in agreement, this was a tough situation, they needed to find food, shelter, and most of all Will. Happily Hay-Lin's grandmother stood up and took control over the situation, becoming the new leading of the large group.

"Alright everyone we need to work together and get us ready for the night, all the answers will slowly be revealed. But we can't keep standing around, does everyone agree?" and with shy looks from the group everyone started to break up and prepare a camp for the night. The group divided into four different parties, Irma and her mom and dad went to go get water, Taranee and her parents worked on gathering firewood and building a fire, Cornella and her mom and dad started to make some shelters, and Hay-Lin and her mom and dad went out to gather foods; leaving Hay-Lin's grandmother, Matt, and Will's mom, and Dean to start to brainstorm on their next action. Within the next few hours the group had created a very impressive campsite and by night time, dinner was being cooked on the fire, and the group finally had settled down for the night.

"Ok so it looks like tomorrow we are going to have to split up into groups and spread out in search of Will. Did she tell any of you girls anything about this place?" Dean asked looking at the make shift map that he and Hay-Lin had created. The girls all gathered and told Dean everything they knew, and early the next morning they planned on venturing out in search of Will. So that morning the group divided into teams and started their search in the massive forest.

They decided that it was best to put one guardian with a group of parents in the case that an attack might occur; who knows what might pop up in this odd world. Wasting as little time as possible the groups dispersed out into the woods in search of Will, hoping that they may become lucky and find her sooner than later. The new world was exactly what Will had told them, little rivers lacing through the earth, high mountains in the distance, and a very large amount of trees with odd vegetation. Taranee and her mom and dad headed out north in, well they think its north but they weren't too sure as the other groups headed out in other directions.

"So you have control over fire that's interesting I guess." Taranee's dad said trying to break the unbearable silence in the group.

"Ya it's interesting, I guess, ah ya. And hey it does come in handy sometimes like cooking and heating stuff up and fighting bad guys……"Taranee decided that it might be best to not get into that story right away, so the group kept walking and every once in a while would call out Will's name. After about two hours of walking Taranee's dad decided that it was a good time to stop for a rest and try to find something to eat.

"Ok well here is the river, and I guess we are going north, or are we going west? Taranee is this west?" Taranee's dad asked trying to figure out the make shift map.

"Hey seeming that we are right next to a river maybe there is some fish that we can have for lunch? Maybe." Taranee's Mom said as she walked over to the river looking to see if there were any fish. Even though this was the greatest situation Taranee was so glad that her mom and dad actually accepted the truth about the guardian and the veil, and how understanding they were. This wasn't easy it was funny to watch as Taranee's mom and dad tried to adapt to the wilderness, but it didn't take them too ong since Taranee's family loved to go camping.

But, just as Taranee's mom reached the river's edge an arrow struck the ground, a mere inch from where she was standing. Taranss's mom jumped back in horror as Taranee went into action mode. The group tried to scan the area, to see where the arrow came from, with little luck. Before they knew it arrows with nets attacked came crashing down upon the family. Taranee imminently burned through the nets using her fire, yet no matter how many nets she burned more and more kept coming out of the thickness of the woods.

"Ok I'll keep burning the nets try to make it out and head back ok?" Taranee yelled as fire poured out of her hands.

"NO! We are not leaving you!" Taranee's mom yelled.

"Taranee its ok they got us. Stop trying, we will think of something else.

"What?" Taranee began to say but as she stopped and started to look around she realized what her dad was talking about, as Taranee was fighting through the nets they were surrounded by little villages; wearing odd masks and each holding some form of weapon. Taranee agreed with her dad, they were caught; if she had the power of the heart and her friends behind her then they could escape, but they were truly captured.

* * *

Taranee had to giggle inside a little, for usually it as always Cornella that was captured first, and here she was captured. As the villagers crept closer to their prey Taranee still couldn't really tell what they were, except that they were a about the height of a teenager and did not look happy, and they didn't seem to look like humans either. Suddenly the group was lifted up off the ground and carried off into the woods. After walking for about 10 to 15 minutes Taranee's family was brought to an actual village with little huts and more creatures walking around. As the parade entered farther into the villages, Taranee and her mom and dad were surrounded by the villages; all curious to see what was captured. Finally Taranee was able to get a better look at what the villagers were.

The villagers looked like humans, but had very strong characteristics of lizards. The villagers had tails and green scales that covered their bodies, yet they walked, and dressed like tribal people; and talked too, yet in a different language. Taranee and her mom and dad were brought and set down right in front of the biggest and best looking hut in the entire village. Now with hands and feet tied Taranee started to really worry about the situation her and her family were in. Drums started to be played as the villagers all started to gather around the main hut and the prisoners, until the drums came to an abrupt stop. Silence filled the entire village as all the villagers bowed down. Taranee putting the pieces together, with bowing down Villagers, drums, and silence, she figured it could only really mean one thing; the king or leader of the village must be making his grand appearance, and Taranee hit the nail on the head. Just as she looked up the leader of the village appeared out the hut; he was the biggest of them all and looked more like a dinosaur than a human half lizard person. The leader loomed over the family and started to speak to the crowd, Taranee having no idea what in the world the leader was saying was fearing the worst, and was trying to figure out what she could do; she had to protect her mom and dad.

However her thought was interrupted when a very familiar red headed girl appeared in front of them bowing to the Leader Lizard dude. Taranee eyes welling with tears, and she could whisper,

"Will".

Will looking just as she did when she was battling the dark creep guy was bowing in front of the Leader and was actually speaking in their language, Taranee, who was watching Will, was surprise to see a lizard villager coming up next to them and untying the nets holding Taranee and her family in.

"Hello, I am Reptell, I am friends with Will. You must be Taranee? Ah the one who holds fire? Correct?"

Taranee was too shock to answer but instead nodded in agreement.

"I will translate for you" Reptell said now listening to the conversation Will was having with the leader.

"Ok Will is saying, oh leader, I know we have had our differences in the past, yet when you and your village was in need I assisted. Please release these people. They are my family, please. Ok the leader is now saying, ah no! ah he said no, he wants to keep the prisoners as a sign of the power of the village."

Taranee watched in horror as Will bowed completely to the ground in front of the leader.

"Will just said. Please release my friends I will do whatever you wish, please release my friends," wow Will is determined to keep the peace and regain your freedom Reptell said looking shocked. Taranee still couldn't wrap her mind around what was going in, but trusted Will no matter what. The lizard leader stood and scratched his scaly chin, thinking something over, as a smile slowly stated to creep along his face. With a chuckle and an evil smile the lizard leader spoke again.

"Warrior rise from the ground and look me in the eye" The lizard leader said in English catching both Will, Taranee, and Reptell all off guard.

"You said you will do anything you have proven that wrong in the past, so I will try my request one more time, you remember my son, Ross?" Will now standing shook her head in what looked like frustration and anger as the Lizard Leader stepped to the side making way for his son Ross.

Taranee looked up into the eyes of the prince of the village Ross, now if he was actually human he could have been a very hot guy, but the scales and the tail kind of ruined it. Taranee was fearful of this guy, because the moment he laid his yellow eyes on Will a very evil and greedy smile spread across his face. He slowly descended down the stairs headed directly to Will, who was standing her ground giving him a look of pure discuss.

"Well, well, well here we are again my dear, now let's try this again." Catching everyone off guard, even Will, Ross suddenly was actually holding Will in his arms, he moved with great speed and was a mere inch away from Wills face.

"Surrender to me and be mine Will" Ross whispered into Will's ear, licking the side of her face. Everyone could tell that Will was holding back, she was using all her might to control her power. Instead Will with grinding teeth mumbled back to Ross her reply.

"Like I said before and I will say it again, my heart was given to someone else and I will stay true to him no matter what, I am sorry, Ross". Will actually looked sad, because it was true, even Taranee knew that. Will and Matt had been going out for a while and Matt was one of the first people that was trusted with the secret of Witch. Will loved him and she had to leave him behind, everyone could tell that she missed him greatly even Ross.

"The one you belong too is truly a lucky man, yet I will not give up and sooner or later I will win you." Ross said as he reluctantly released Will.

"You and your friends are free for now, but I will be coming for you; soon. Go before I change my mind." And with that Ross turned away and signaled for the prisoners to be released. Will and Reptell said farewell as the group headed back out into the woods. Will, Taranee, and Taranee's mom and dad made it safely into the woods when Will finally let down her guard, falling to the ground.

"WILL!!!" everyone yelled! Will amazingly enough used up all the strength she had left trying to hold in her powers. Reptell rushed over, checking her pulse.

"She is alright, she collapsed from exhaustion, and she will be fine." Reptell said with a sigh, everyone was happy, yet Taranee was still sad, she hated to see what Will had to go through, and what if they weren't there, then Will would be laying there all alone.

So the group headed back to the main camp site, Taranee and her dad lead the way while Taranees's mom followed, and Reptell closing up the rear with Will sound asleep on his back. In no time at all the group made it back to the camp site, where everyone was awaiting for Tarnees group to return.

"Taranee your finally back! We were getting worried." Hay-Lin yelled running up to Taranee giving her a big hug, but as Hay-Lin was hugging Taranee she looked over Taranees shoulder and got the first look at Reptell.

"Ah what's that?" Hay-Lin asked slowly backing away with caution; the rest of the group who also came over saw Reptell and they too all started to back away.

"Oh everyone this is Reptell he's a friend, he helped us." Taranee said, Taranees mom also stepped forward. "Yes he helped us out greatly and look who we found as well." Reptell taking the hint turned slightly to the side to reveal Will, who he had been carrying in his back and who was still fast asleep. Everyone cried out in unison and rushed over to examine Will. All the while Reptell was trying to re-ensure everyone that she was alright.

* * *

As Will slept she dreamed, she dreamed of the past or maybe it was the future; she honestly really couldn't tell. But all she knew was that she was happy, her friends were all there safe and sound, her mom was happy, and the world finally seemed right. In her dream she was not scared, she was not sad or worried; there was pure happiness, pure calmness. She couldn't understand the feeling, but she felt safe, protected, and wanted, she felt loved, and with that she could feel the power growing inside her. Slowly she drifted from sleep to being awake. As she slowly started to open her eyes and adjust to the dim light she realized it was late, the fire was slowly burning down and she was surrounded by all her friends and their families including her own. Next to her propped against a tree was her mom sleeping. Will was overwhelmed, her mom wasn't mad, she was there. She came all this way to be with her, for the first time in a very long time Will allowed the love from her mom to flood over her. With a smile Will made a secret decision, she realized that we all make mistakes; and that for the first and only time she had a chance to make a difference, she could not give up, because she was loved and she had to protect the ones she loved forever more. She finally found her purpose, the thing that she needed to fight for; she needed to be there for the ones she loved even if that meant she had to sacrifice everything so that they all could live.

Will rolled over so that she was facing her mom and very carefully reached for her mom's hand, and hand in hand Will drifted back off to sleep. As the sun made it way over the mountain tops the group all slowly started to wake up, but instantly panic started to flood the group, for Will had disappeared; but just as the group started to really panic Will appeared out of the woods carrying a very large net filled with fish and fresh fruit.

"Good morning everyone" Will said laying down the fish by the now roaring fire. Everyone was shocked, fish, fruit and a fire that looked like it would last the whole day Will really did master the art of camping. The parents were able to comprehend the situation a lot faster than the guardians, for they were up and trying to assist Will. But Will was doing pretty good all on her own. Instantly Will had a handmade knife out and was gutting out the fish and washing them out. The men were shocked, Will was a true hunter. After a awkward silence that was awkward for everyone but Will; people started to go about to help out with breakfast, some went to get more water, some went to find wood and others tried to assist Will. The ones assisting Will were the guardians.

"Hey Will where did you get that knife?" Irma asked as she was stabbing a stick through the already clean fish. "My home, one of my homes is really close by, I have a lot of tools there what I made over the years." Will said handing another piece of fish to Irma "Can you bring us there I don't know about everyone else, but I would like to see where you have been living" Irma said shyly continuing her work. Will stopped and looked at her, surprised that they were even interested, and then with a smile she gave Irma her response. "Sure I would love to show everyone and we can grab more tools and honestly I have a few personal things I want to get as well." Will said return to her work.

As soon as breakfast was finished and cleaned up Taranee, Cornelia, Hay-Lin, Irma, and Will all headed to Wills home while the parents had a private grown up meeting. It was only a short distance away; for Will had lead the group to the side of what looked like a mountain. Off to the side there was what appeared to be a wooden door made out of many branches tired together. The girls were amazed, Will actually lived her; but before they all could get a real good look Will was already opening the door and guiding the group in.

"Wow, so you live in a cave?" Cornelia said as she entered the area, but she stopped short as she got a better look. The cave was deep and somehow naturally lit. With a smile Will lead them all deeper into the cave until when they all thought they went right under the mountain, but instead they came into an opening. They all slowly walked into a large clearing where handmade decorations hung from the ceiling; there was a bed off in one corner, a table, a fire pit, and a handmade chest. The girls all spread out and examined the area, amazed that this is where Will lived. Hay-Lin walked over to the area where Wills makeshift bed was and traced her hand along the wall, as she did she found carvings all along the wall. Pictures of what looked like people dates, notes, and other things. As Hay-Lin took in all the carvings she was suddenly overcome with emotion, she felt so bad. All she could think about was Will lying there night after night all alone carving things into the hard stone walls. She couldn't hold it in any longer, tears started to slowly flow down Hay-Lin's face, and as hard as she tried to stop she couldn't, they just kept coming. But suddenly out of nowhere Will was standing right next to Hay-Lin looking at the wall as well.

"I know I'm not as good as an artist as you are, but it kept me busy; I'm actually really happy you got to see them, I think if I was in art class I would get an A or maybe a B." Will said with a laugh, Hay-Lin could not help but laugh as well, Hay-Lin knew that Will was alone but she was never alone in her memories.

The group gathered the remaining tools Will had and even a few weapons, and Will gathered up her handmade chest. As they left Wills home everyone took one last look back, except Will, she kept her head straight and her eyes forward. The rest followed and they made their way back to the camp.

When the group returned to the camp someone seemed to stick out and it didn't take long for the guardians to realize that the Oracle had appeared. With a gentle the smile the Oracle motioned for the guardians to join the group around the fire.

"Hello everyone, looks like you all found each other, I am very pleased to see that." The Oracle said looking around at everyone. "But I presume you all are wondering why you still remain here, the answer is simple, there is one last test, and no Will you do not have to do this alone. This requires each and everyone one of you, for this is that hardest test of them all. The task that lies in front of you is…….finding the heart of (Candagar)." Silence felled over the group as all eyes felled on Will, she was the holder of the heart, and everyone thought she still had it. Will's happiness faded and was replaced with a look of pure disgust. "Let me speak for Will" The Oracle announced, "Will was ordered by me to hide it, only I know where it lies, not even she knows, for she was under my power. She has absolutely no memory of what she did, she can still tap into its power like you all have been since Will has been gone, but you cannot sense where it actually is. Find the heart and you will all return home, once and for all." And with that the Oracle disappeared.

Everyone tried to avoid making eye contact with Will, they could all tell that she was disappointed with herself.

"Alright you all heard the god guy we have to find the heart….thing, so let's get cracking we sure aren't getting any younger!" Irma's dad said giving Dean a big slap on the back. Dean rubbing his back agreed. "Yes your right, so let's think…hhhmmmmm ok girls do you have any idea or maybe a feeling on where the heart could be. You all have been connected to it so maybe you can think of somewhere it could be." The girls all nodded in agreement, it was true they could feel the heart and only they had the best understanding on what the heart actually is; so the group felled into a deep silence trying to think of anything that could lead to a clue.

"I wonder" Taranee said getting up circling around pacing. "The heart connects us to the elements, Will is the leader connected to the heart, but she too has an element power, we all do….so that means we are all connected to the heart…..and maybe that means……oh my god it is like the story." Taranee said unaware that the entire group was watching her. "The story that tells the origins of the heart says pretty much that everything comes from one thing, the elements came from one source, so maybe if we find the source of the elements we can find the heart." Taranee said as she finally stopped moving and was examining the group to see if anyone agreed, to her surprise the other guardians looked shocked. "That is total right, like we did the play on how the heart was created, maybe the one place it could be would be where everything else was created or something like that, oh whatever Taranee you are a GENIUS!!!" Cornelia said now standing next to Taranee. "Yes that all makes perfect since we need to find where everything comes together and the heart should be there, but where does everything come together?" Hay-Lin asked. "Maybe the heart of this world, is where it all connects?" Will said lost in a deep thought. Everyone agreed. "Will didn't you go to the heart of this World?" Irma asked looking at Will, but it seemed like Will wasn't there, like she was lost in her own thoughts that were taking her to another place, another time. "Will?" Irma said trying to get Will's attention,

But Will was not responding it was like she was in a trance. Suddenly Will didn't know where she was, just a second ago she was sitting with everyone else, and now she was in complete darkness. An icy cold sweat started to overcome her, and she couldn't stop trembling she could hear the screams of each of her battles, how she had to defeat each and every one of the people she loved. Their faces appeared before her, she vowed to herself that she would never return to where she had to fight, to win against everyone, even herself. Now she has to return to her nightmare. The pain of the memories were too much, she tried to hold her head in hopes of pushing away the bad thoughts, but she couldn't bare it, until suddenly.

"SLAP"

Will was back in the real world, her face was stinging on one side; but she couldn't figure out what was wrong; all she could see was Cornelia's face right in front of hers.

"Will! You need to snap out of it we need you! Ok?" Cornelia commanded trying to stay focus. Finally everything became clear, Cornelia sure could slap hard, but Will was grateful. "Thank you Cornelia I needed that" Will said rubbing the side of her face. "I'm sorry Will but it was the only thing I could think of to get you to snap out of it." Cornelia said sorrow spreading all over her face, Will felt Cornelia's pain. "No, no honestly I really did need that thank you, I just got lost in my own dark memories and I couldn't pull myself out." Will said looking a bit defeated. "But at least I have you all here to keep me in check." Will said with a smile, so with a few laughs the large group devised a plan to go back to the heart of the world in hopes of finding the heart of (k) there.

* * *

With no time to waste the group devised a plan and decided that the next day they would all set out on their journey to the heart of the world with Will leading the way. So that morning they pack up anything that they thought they could use and followed Will north.

"Hey Will how do you where we are going?" Hay-Lin's dad asked still trying to read his daughters map. Will glanced back and answered with a sign. "I had a lot of time to walk, fly, run, all around this world; I unfortunately got a good idea where stuff is."

The group walked for what seemed like hours, across streams, over hills, down a mountain, and even over a giant river. "Will …..Are we there yet?" Irma asked in a sarcastic voice, however she did not receive the answer she wanted instead she got a smack on the side of the head. "OUCH! Cornelia! What was that for?" Irma said rubbing the side of her head. "No comment." Cornelia said in a serious tone, however no one took it seriously even the parents had to suppress their giggles, even Irma laughed it off. So the group kept going, stopping occasionally to rest. About half way through the day Reptell took his leave, as he walked away he waved back to the group; for he had his own mission ahead of him. Just as night started to sweep over the world, the group found a good camping area right near the side of a cliff and a small stream was close by. After dinner was cooked and the fire had was burning away, everyone was fast asleep; except for Will who stayed up watching the fire. But just as she laid another piece of wood onto the fire she snapped up in full alert ready to strike.

"It's ok Will, it's just me." a voice said through the dim light produced by the fire, Will slowly let down her stance for her mom was joining her by the fire. "I never thought you were really jumpy, I'm sorry if I surprised you." Will's mom said as she sat down next to her daughter. Will took in deep some breaths, trying to relax and refocus her attention back to the fire. "It's ok, I'm sorry; usually at night that's when attacks happen so I was at the ready." Will said trying to not make contact with her mom's eyes. But she could since that her mom was looking at her, trying to reveal all the answers that Will kept hidden inside. After a moment Will's mom finally gave up and instead looked up into the deep starry night sky. "It is so hard to believe that you were under these stars for so long, and I had no idea…..Will….I am not mad….but I just want to know….why…..why did you….all you girls have to keep this a secret from us….?" Will's mom asked still looking up at the sky. Will fiddled with the fire with a stick trying to think of what to say, honestly she did not want to keep this from her mom, but it was for the best. Finally she came up with an answer.

"We were all kind of thrown into this, it happened right after we moved here, I don't know how I was chosen to hold the heart, but once we all joined together under one common goal…well I felt needed… I felt wanted……it is not your fault mom…I know why you and dad separated…..but honestly after that, I felt abandoned by dad……and…..and…..I was scared that you might leave me too….so so keep myself from being hurt……by pushing you away…so if you did ever leave it might not hurt that bad….Irma, Cornelia, Hay-Lin and Taranee they all needed me and I knew that no matter what they would never leave me behind. They became my second family.…and we all worried that if you all knew, you might think we were crazy…or doing worse things….or even separate us…and I was finally happy…I didn't want to leave Heatherfield. But I did want to tell you….it made me sick having to lie to your face day after day…saying I was here when I was actually in another world….and it kept pushing us even farther apart….I am sorry mom…I didn't want to hurt you..I was selfish and was trying to protect my own feels…..but now I know….no matter what I will never be alone…I have the two best families in the entire world, you and W.I.T.C.H." Will said looking her mom in the eyes with a smile.

"Oh Will you don't have to apologize, we were both in the wrong….I was so caught up in trying to fit in…to be the best single parent and do the best for you…that I forgot to really think of what you wanted and what was best for you…and not what I thought was. Having your dad leave us was hard on me too….and I wanted to prove that I could be just as good without him, I guess I was trying a little bit too hard." Will's mom said with a chuckle. "Well let's agree to disagree and have this be a new start for us mom…no secrets…not anymore." Will said with a smile. "Agreed." Will's mom said. "But you really should be going to bed young lady we have to get up early in the morning." Will's mom said with that motherly look in her eye. Will just stared back until they both broke out laughing. "Ok good I thought you were serious because honestly I'm a natural at staying up for long periods of time now." Will said. The two talked until the fire was almost completely burned out, and Will's mom finally felled asleep.

By the time Will's mom had awoken the sun was up, a new fire was burning, and Will was right where she left her, except she had another net filled with fish; that she was gutting and cleaning. By the time Will had finished the rest of the group was up and awake, trying to help Will with breakfast. In little to no time everyone was sitting around the fire eating fish for breakfast.

"Hey Will, I feel real bad can't you wait and take one of us to get food with you, every morning you provide breakfast." Taranee's dad said looking sad that he wasn't helping enough, everyone nodded with agreement. Will, looking around, could see that everyone was feeling bad that she was doing so much, so she explained her reasons.

"Honestly it is ok, really I am used to fending for myself, and well you see…" Will said now looking deep into the fire. "When I go out I use my energy and fly and I look around to make sure that no one is near the camp site, and to see if I could find any clues. But mostly I'm on the lookout. I didn't tell anyone this because I didn't want anyone to worry…… but yesterday morning I found a small group of wanders coming near our camp site……..I watched them to see what they were up too and….unfortunately they were up to no good….so I had to get rid of them." Will said, still keeping her eyes on the fire.

"So pretty much you have been acting as a spy/ sniper for anyone or anything that was dangerous that came near us, and you took them out." Irma's dad said almost alarmed. "Yes sir…..this is what I had to do every single day…its dangerous here….." Will started to say yet she was interrupted. "That is no excuse! We are all a team, if something is up you need to come and get us, and we will help." Irma's dad yelled now standing up, fists clenched.

Will finally could not take it anymore. "I AM SORRY….. BUT I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN SEE ANY OF YOU GET HURT HERE! …..THIS IS NOT HOME….THIS IS NOT EARTH…. IT IS HELL!!!... A REAL….. HELL!.... WHERE IT'S EITHER KILL…. OR BE KILLED! SO I WILL KILL….. AND PROTECT THE PEOPLE I LOVE!" Will screamed now standing as well, making the earth shake a little with her energy. Everyone was silent; even Irma's dad had to back off a little. After a moment Will realized what she had just said and regretted it. But just was Will was about to say sorry she was interrupted, once again.

"Will I am sorry….I forgot that you lived here….here in this horrible place…what I'm trying to say is…is that as parents were used to being the protectors, not the ones getting protected… I am sorry Will, I was way out of line, but please it would put all us parents minds at ease if we knew what you all know, ok?" Irma's dad said. Will could see the sadness in his eyes, and nodded in agreement. "But please sir, except my apology, it was not right to yell." Will said feeling ashamed for the way she acted. "Apology accepted!" Irma's dad said with a smile, and all the rest of the parents smiled and nodded as well.

* * *

After about one more days worth of traveling the group finally came to the end, well to everyone but Will, it just looked like they came to the edge of a very, very high cliff.

"WOW! We are either really high up or this is a very deep hole!" Hay-Lin said leaning very carefully over the edge, looking down. "So what do we do now?" Taranee said looking around.

"Well this is it! The heart of this world is right down there." Will said pointing down towards the giant hole.

"Ahh….so how do we get down there?" Cornelia's mom said kicking a small stone over the edge straining to hear it hit the bottom. Will was hoping that no one would ask, but she had to tell the truth.

"Well honestly when I found this place I was surrounded by a horrible tribe that wanted to kill me thinking they could absorb my power…I was really tired, hurt, and I couldn't fight anymore; so I jumped." Will said very matter of fact. Everyone gasped at her answer, but she continued.

"As I was falling I was positive that I was going to die and I said my finally prayer, but all of a sudden I was transported to the heart of the world. I think it's a portal to the center, so all we have to do is jump and well be transported to the heart. Don't worry it should work, it worked for me." Will said with a smile, but no one else was smiling.

"So you want us to jump off this cliff?" Wills mom said looking very skeptical. "Yes." Will said looking determined. "Trust me."

Suddenly Will's mom was standing right on the edge of the cliff. "So who else is coming?" Will's mom said, looking around. Slowly everyone gathered around the edge, preparing themselves for the jump.

"Ok everyone hold hands and do not let go. If something is to go wrong it will be easier for me to try to pull everyone up alright….I will jump first, when I say go…go, alright?" Will yelled making sure she could be heard over the wind. Everyone nodded, and waited.

With one giant leap Will jumped off the cliff and was flying through the air, arms and legs apart, face down towards the bottomless pit.

"GGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

All at once the rest of the group followed Wills lead, it was amazing. Holding each other for dear life, all they could see was the darkness of the whole and Will's red hair blowing in the wind. Suddenly it was getting even darker yet they could all hear was Wills voice.

"EVERYONE HOLD ON!"

Then in a blink of the eye it was over.

The ground was wet; it felt so good, the cold wet earth. Cornelia lied there, taking in the moisture, the fall made her temperature rise. As she was falling the panic got the better of her, making her sweat, in fear of the worse. She strained her ears to see if she could hear if anyone was around her, her head was still foggy from the fall and for some reason her eyes just would not open. She couldn't hear anything; there were no other noises of the other getting up, there was nothing. She forced her eyes open, only to see darkness; where ever they were it was really dark. Slowly she found her way and on her hands and knees she started to feel around; praying that she would find someone in their group. After a few minutes Cornelia's hand found what felt like a shoe. Carefully she tried to identify the person by the shoe they were wearing; hopefully someone in this very large group owns this shoe and not some random bad guy that was chilling down here waiting to attack the group. Within a second she could tell who's shoe this was, it was Irma's new fluffy shoe. Cornelia remember when Irma first got those "way to out there pink" fluffy shoes, where the sides were made of a very soft fabric. She knew because Irma literally took her shoe off and chased Cornelia around trying to make her feel her shoe. With in an instant Cornelia was next to Irma trying to get her to wake up.

"Irma!....Irma" Cornelia whispered, she didn't want to be too loud. "IRMA!"

"What?...what….five more minutes mom!!!" Irma said as she tried to roll away. Cornelia was appalled that Irma thought she was her mom and yet at the same time she was happy, it meant the other guardians looked up to her, or Irma really thought she was her mom.

"I'm not your mom; it's me Cornelia wake up!!!" Slowly Irma rolled over and instantly took in the situation.

"Whoa is it me or is it like the definition of dark in here?" Irma said trying to get a grip on their surroundings. "Ya I know it's dark, let's go and try to find the others." Cornelia said. Together they started to crawl around looking for the others.

Somewhere, who knows where, since it was like pitch black Taranee's eyes fluttered open, desperately seeking some form of light so that she can grasp her bearings. She tried to talk but her voice was strained from all the screaming she did on the way down. As she tried to gather herself together, yet it took her a second to realize that she had the power over fire; she could make her figure into an instant lighter. Taranee's, still trying to see where she was, fumbled in a somewhat up right position getting ready to unleash a little spark on her figure tips. But just as she was about to snap her figures someone or something quickly rolled on top of Taranee completely covering her, making it almost impossible to move. Before any words or actions could be made someone was whispering into Taranee's ear. "Do… not…. Move… we are not alone…." Taranee instantly recognized the calming yet alert voice that belonged to Will. A moment later Taranee knew why Will had literally laid on top of her.

"Over here see there is a body." A man's voice said. "Is is dead?" another voice added in. "Yes I checked, leave it, no need to carry around the dead." The other said as his voice drifted away, and slowly Taranee could hear their footsteps fading away in the distance. Will however stayed perfectly still, right on top of Taranee, they were literally right in top of each other. Taranee could feel the heat of Wills body, the unsteadiness of her breathing, and unfortunately her weight pushing down on her. Taranee stayed still, afraid to talk, waiting for Will to make a move.

"Sorry Taranee, they already found me and thought I was dead, so I rolled over to cover you…you alright? Taranee was shocked Will really had changed, she was a survivor and she was determined to protect everyone. Taranee could only nod; she was trying to hold back the tears. Slowly Will rolled herself off and Taranee instantly found Will, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "I don't know what I would do without you Will." Taranne said tears now flowing; she couldn't hold them in anymore, and with no second thoughts Will returned the hug.

After a moment to collect themselves, Will and Taranee, set off to find the others.

Cornelia and Irma walked around in the dark for what seemed like hours.

"Corny we have been walking around for like hours in the dark what are we doing!" Irma wined right into Cornelia's ear, Cornelia rolled her eyes at Irma's remark. "I was thinking the same thing." Cornelia said more to herself than to Irma. The two girls pushed on stumbling through the dark cave hallways, until Cornelia tripped right over and did a complete summersault, landing with bang.

"OUCH! WHAT IN THE WORLD!" Cornelia yelled rubbing her side, both her and Irma tried to scan the area, looking for the obstacle that Cornelia collided with.

"Hey guys I'm glad it was you that tripped over me and not those nasty weirdo's." Hay-Lin said as she magically appeared out of thin air. Hay-Lin had a wonderful little ability to go invisible whenever she wanted. "Oh it was just you thank goodness" Cornelia said as she slowly started to get up. "Ya sorry about that Cornelia, when I woke up from our drop these dudes were walking around….So I went invisible." Hay-Lin explained.

"Well at least we found someone out of our group we should keep looking for the rest." Irma said, as the group started to make their way down the cave way. As they walked Hay-Lin explained the creepy creatures that she saw, making them all a little uneasy, they were separated from the large group, the heart was missing and they couldn't see a single thing. Slowly they made their way around the corridors hoping to find someone from their large group. However just as they were rounding a corner, Irma was literally grabbed by the neck and put into a chock hold, as she weald back to relieve the pressure on the throat her captor used her legs as a bat and knocked both Cornelia and Hay-Lin right off their feet! Suddenly a flame appeared in front of the group and Taranee let out a yell of horror. Cornelia and Hay-Lin looked up to see that their captors were none other than Taranee and Will.

"Oh my God! Cornelia, Hay-Lin you two okay?" Taranee said helping her friends up from the ground. Will instantly released Irma from her hold and lowered her head, ashamed of mistaking one of her best friends for a bad guy. "Irma you ok?" Taranee said walking over to Irma, Irma had her back pressed against the cave wall trying to catch her breath. "Ya I'll be fine…wow, that's one of the best wrestling moves I've ever seen, well more like…like…ah man I got no good comeback for this." Irma said breathing in deep. Will looked absolutely horrified she hurt one of her best friends, she was ready to kill her. The very people she promised to protect she harmed; Will didn't know what to do with herself. So she turned towards the wall and decided that it was best that she punished herself for what she did and almost would have done.

Just as everyone was gathering themselves together after the ambush, a very loud bang caught their attention, and they all spun around to see Will punching the cave wall with her bare hand. Even though Will had an inner power, she was still human and there was only so much her body could really handle. But Will persisted to punch the cave wall with all her might, leaving behind cracks in the wall and a trail of blood. Before anyone could do anything Irma was up and in front of the spot that Will was hitting, blocking her.

"Will stop that right now! What are you crazy!!!.....it was an accident ok!....I'm fine! Were all fine! It is ok!....... Really…" Irma said looking very determined in her attempts of blocking Will from the wall. Will looked down at the floor, she couldn't understand why they all were so forgiving, what she did was unforgivable, but her thoughts were interrupted by a kind warm hug. It's ok Will, I'm fine, really I'm okay! Never better! You better teach me that move later so I can do it to Martin the next time he gets too close to me." Irma said as she tightened her hug on Will. Will could only smile, she really did have the best friends in the entire universe, and man oh man did she miss them. "Ok you got it!" Will said as she returned the hug. Once the group decided which direction they should go Taranee created a small flame so the Guardians could actually see each other; and the first thing she saw was Will's hand covered in blood.

"Will your bleeding!" Taranee cried rushing over to look at the damage Will created. Will had completely forgotten that she smashed her fist into the wall like five times in a row. "Well nothings broken I think?" Will said as she opened and closed her hand making sure everything worked, her hand was sore, but amazingly she didn't break any bones. Instead she ripped through her skin almost down to the bone. Using some of the extra fabric off of Hay-Lin's cloths Will wrapped up her hand and the group continued their way through the caves, looking for both the heart of the world and their parents.

* * *

As the very large group felled down the portal to the Heart of the World, somehow the parents and the guardians were separated. The guardians all found each other, but they could not locate any of the adults. So they kept moving forward in hopes that the parents had made it to the center of the world. When the guardians finally made their way down to the center they were surprised by what they found. The center of the world as not what they thought it would be, it was a giant circular room with nothing inside, well they thought there was nothing inside. But as they walked farther in the guardians spotted a cage off to the side of the giant room holding all their parents inside. Just as they made their way over to the cage the guardians were surrounded by creepy looking gaurds.

"Hey I guess this our party invitation!" Irma said as the Guardians prepared to take on the guards. "Well shall we dance?" Cornelia said eyeing the other Guardians. "Let's dance….." Will said as electricity started to consume her body.

"GUARDIANS UNITE!"

Within seconds glowing orbs absorbed the girl's bodies, all but Wills, and soon W.I.T.C.H was back in business. "Wow it's been a while since I've said those words." Will said with a smile.

"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think they are getting restless." Taranee said pointing to the guards who were now closing in on the group. With that the group went into action; together Irma and Hay-Lin had enough power to freeze the guards that were closets to them, while Cornelia and Taranee made their way over to the cage that was holding their parents. Will, staying in her human form, resorted to punching out guards and electrocuting them at the same time. However for every guard they took down two more appeared; and without the actual Heart the group was weaker. Eventually the girls were over powered, leaving Will as the main contender against the guards. Will was devastated for each time she looked over her shoulder one of her best friends were being taken away and put into a new cage that appeared right near their parent's cage. Until finally Will was the last one standing.

(Clap, clap, clap)

"Good job, good job, so this is the power of the Guardians of the Veil, well part Guardians since you are missing the key part. What are you missing again?……..oh the Heart! That's right the Heart is missing, making you all weaker and well I hate to say I thought you all would have put up a better fight, but oh well.………Will you look surprised to see me?" Black Night said as he appeared out from the shadows. Will eyes were widened and filled with pure hatred and anger; she stood her ground looking straight at her enemy. The guards slowly backed off as the two warriors took center stage; the energy in the air was extraordinary.

"You are not Black Night…..I killed him." Will said looking at him straight in the eye. However the stranger just merely laughed and in a blink of an eye he was face to face with Will, only a mere inche apart.

"Then who am I?" The stranger said, as a wide evil grin crawling along his face.

"Will! Don't listen to him, he's playing tricks with you!" Cornelia screamed. All the guardians and the parents were plastered to the cage trying to get a better view of that was happening in the center of the room. Everyone was yelling at Will telling her to run, punch him in the face, that they were trying to get out to help. But Will simply put up her hand indicating for them to relax.

"HA! Or maybe you don't know who I am. Well that will give me the upper hand. But I will let you in and tell you. " Just as the dark figure crept closer to Will's ear he transformed and taking on a whole new form.

"I am your worst nightmare….."

As the dark figure pulled away Will was looking into the eyes of none other than her mom; the dark figure took the form of her mother. Instantly Wills eyes shot over to the parent's cage, and she could clearly see her mother, eyes wide with terror. Will could also feel the presence of fear sliding up her spine. The dark version of Wills mom found this very humorous and let out a roar of laughter, he even sounded just like Wills mom.

"HAHAHAHAAAA!!! This is too good! I will surly enjoy this…..well I guess I will fill you in on the rest of the details; so then I can start the real fun……..Killing you! See I can take whatever form I want! I can be one person one second…(as she walked around Will the dark form transformed into a dark version of Hay-Lin) and I can instantly be another person. Fun isn't it?" The dark figured said, laughing. Everyone was silent, even the parent's did not know what to say. Will didn't know what to do; she had to fight the people she loved once before, but now it was like fighting them all at the same time. She didn't know if she was strong enough to do it again.

"COME ON WARRIOR OF LIGHT! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO! SO FIGHT ME!!!!" The dark figure yelled, now changing into Taranee. "Oh and by the way if you do manage to kill me whatever form I have taken that person will die as well."

* * *

The dark figure, which was in the form of Taranee, charged head on into Will; releasing a blast of fire. Will was able to avoid the blast, but wasn't quick enough. The dark figure smashed her, hard, sending Will straight into the cave wall. As the dark figure walked over to where Will landed, he transformed into Cornelia and used her earth powers to bind Will to the spot of the cave wall that she hit. "Will, Will, Will I thought you would be putting up a better fight." The dark figure said as the veins started to tighten their hold on Will. Will remained silent as the Dark Cornelia stood in front of her.

"I know what you are doing…..and you won't last very long." The dark Cornelia whispered into Will's ear. With that the figure jumped back and as he landed he transformed into Irma and started to blast Will with a heavy stream of water. Everyone let out a scream, they couldn't break free from the cages, not even the guardians.

"Why isn't Will fighting back?" Mr. Liar yelled trying to pull the bars on their cage apart. He only stopped when he heard his daughter answer his question.

"BECAUSE SHE WOULD RATHER DIE THAN KILL ONE OF US!!!" Irma yelled as tears poured down her face; she had to sit there, helpless, as she watched herself drown her best friend. It broke her heart to watch, until finally Hay-Lin blocked her view by hugging her best friend. Mr. Liar looked almost defeated, as Wills mom knees gave way and she knelt on the floor tears rolling down her face. Suddenly Will broke free and was flying through the air, a brilliant light trailing behind her, until she was knocked down by a dark version of Hay-Lin, who was able to out fly her. Will hit the ground hard, just to have more veins wrapping around her and then even more water being smashed down upon her. As soon as the water stop Will only had a moment to act, for blast of fire was coming right after her. Will dodged and rolled away. Her mind was racing, trying to think of what she could do. Irma was right she would die for them, but there had to be a way; she will find a way to win. In the meantime Will was being smashed down by attack, after attack, after attack. She couldn't keep up with the dark figure, and his attacks were getting faster and stronger with each minute that passed by. Just as Will regained herself after the last series of fire blasts; the figure transformed again into her mom, and slowly made her way over to Will; who was barley standing and was profoundly bleeding from head to toe.

"Ahhh this has been fun, and I think I will make this even more fun." The dark version of Wills mom said she started circling around the wounded Will. "Oohhh Will you have been a very, very, bad girl over the years."

(As the figure walked he transformed into Cornelia) "You almost ruined my friendship with Elyon remember."

(Now transforming into Taranee) "Thanks to you I have became a criminal."

(As he circled around again he transformed into Irma) "I've had to lie to my parents so many times because of you."

(Circling around again he transformed into Hay-Lin) "Thanks to you I almost lost my grandma." (As he walked he transformed back into Cornelia) "You ruined our chance of ever living a normal life."

(The dark figure changed back into Wills mom) "How does it feel? How does it feel to be unloved?"

Suddenly the dark version of Wills mom was literally electrocuting Will with raw dark energy; so much that Will finally couldn't hold it in and screamed out in pain. Everyone who was watching was crying, it was horrible to see, Will being tortured right in front of their eyes. As the dark figure electrocuted Will he kept changing, and with each change he egged Will on, saying come on Will, kill, kill, KILL. But slowly Will was weakening and everything started to fade away.

The room was silent; Will was still being electrocuted, but she had become completely numb. She was lying on the floor; the only thing that told her that she was still alive was the growing taste of blood in her mouth. But as she looked over through the haze from the negative electricity she could see everyone. It was like slow motion, her friends were screaming and crying, the parents were screaming as well. But Will could only see their mouths moving, no sound was coming out. Slowly her eyes felled down upon her mother, her mom was kneeling; hands clenched together, it looked like she was praying, but when they finally made eye contact Wills mom started to talk. Will could only read her moms lips, she wasn't yelling, or screaming, she was just talking. It looked like she said "I love you Will no matter what, I am so proud of you." And after a pause her mom said one last thing, "Will…..Listen to your heart". Will suddenly knew what to do, why didn't she see it before. With a small smile Will tried to refocus on her enemy. Slowly she started to build her energy into her hand, waiting for the right moment.

Finally the torture session came to a pause and the dark figure leaned in to whisper one last thing into Wills ear, but this time the dark figure took on a new form. As Wills surroundings came into focus she found herself face to face with none other than herself. The dark version of her loomed over and let out a sly laugh. "Any last words before you……………" But the dark Will was literally cut off.

"Ya…..I win!"

Will said as she slowly started to stand, pushing a sword made of pure light deeper, and deeper into the dark Wills chest.

"How….how did you know…..the heart……" The Dark Will whispered as blood streamed down the corner of her mouth. Will, who also had a matching stream of blood pouring from the side of her mouth answered. "My mom reminded me." And with that Will drew the sword of light right up and through the dark Will's heart; and with a blinding flash of light the dark Will disappeared.

* * *

Slowly the contents of the room faded away, the guards and the cages; leaving everyone alone in the empty room. Will stood for a second, sword in hand, surrounded by lingering little lights of remaining energy that floated down from the ceiling. But as the sword faded away so did the last of Wills strength; until her body finally made contact with the ground. As the group made their way over to her they finally got to see the extent of the damaged. Will sacrificed herself, she did not only drive a sword into the heart of the dark figure, but also right into her own heart. Blood was everywhere, she still couldn't hear anyone; all she could do was watch her friends as they tried to help, as they cried.

But Will was actually happy; everyone was safe, her mom, her friends, the world, and she didn't feel any pain. To be honest she hadn't felt that good in a long time. But she still was a little sad, as she watched tears fall down her mom's cheeks. She knew that she would have to leave her mom, but Will wished that she could tell her mom how happy that she was there with her during her last moments on earth. But as hard as she tried she couldn't speak; all she could do was smile. But over her moms shoulder Will saw the Oracle standing behind her. Suddenly she remembered that they still needed to find the heart. As she watched the Oracle, he slowly pointed to his chest and then vanished. Finally everything clicked in Wills mind; she knew where the heart was.

With a lot of effort Will slowly brought her own hand over her heart, right where her major wound was; everyone stopped to see what Will was doing. Taking in a deep quivery breath Will concentrated all her might onto that one spot. Slowly as she brought her hand up a very dim pink light appeared. It was small, and round, but it gradually grew into a bright glowing orb. Within seconds everyone knew what it was; it was the Heart of Kandraka. It was right in front of them all along. But before anyone could say or do anything the pink light grew and engulfed the entire group; instantly transporting them to a new area.

TO BE CONTINUED........... :)


End file.
